Appliances contain shelves and similar storage devices within the appliance interior used to organize and support stored goods such as food and containers. These shelves and similar storage devices can be made from a variety of materials including glass, plastic, wood and metals, such as wire and sheet steel.
Conventional appliances are known to include different types of shelving designs. Some conventional shelving designs include assemblies comprising the use of different materials such as glass, plastic and metals. The kinds of materials used in shelf assemblies are chosen for a variety of reasons including cost, strength, quality, features offered, performance characteristics and design flexibility.
Many conventional shelving assemblies are often bulky and frequently utilize a combination of several of the materials identified above. In addition, conventional shelving assemblies can include adhesives, rivets or silicones to help with manufacture and assembly. One common type of conventional shelving assembly design is often referred to as encapsulated glass shelving. In this type of shelving assembly, the perimeter of a piece of glass is encapsulated in plastic such that the plastic covers the sides and adjacent edge portions of the top and bottom of the glass. Such arrangements typically rest on two metal support brackets. Such designs may also be commonly referred to as encapsulated glass cantilever shelving.